1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



319 



DUBABILITY OF HORSES. 



ERiiAPS one of the most im- 

 portant changes which in- 

 dicate progress in agri- 

 culture, is the longer duration of 

 some of our domestic animals. Fifty 

 years ago, it was thought that a cow 

 that had reached eight years had 

 passed into old age, and must be 

 turned to beef. So if a horse had got into his 

 teens, he could not eal well, or if he could, 

 he had passed the period when his services 

 could be made profitable, and the conclusion 

 was, that the poor old horse must die. 



As a cow does not come to her full power 

 of production until she is six or seven years 

 old, and as there are three of these years when 

 she does not pay for her keeping, the whole 

 productive time of her life is reduced to some 

 four or five years, if she is turned off at eight. 

 A horse should never be put to full labor 

 until he has reached the age of eight years. 

 He may do a little light labor every day after 

 attaining the age of three years, and when past 

 four, do much more than enough to pay the 

 cost of keeping. But it is neither profitable 

 nor expedient in any way to put him to steady 

 labor on the road or on the farm, until he has 

 reached the age of eight years. The first three 

 years of his life ought to be a bill of cost, if 

 he is to be sound to start with, and is ex- 

 pected to endure until he is twenty-five to 

 thirty years of age. 



A large number of all New England horses 

 are spoiled before they are three years old, 

 either by mistaken notions in feeding, by too 

 quick movements on the road, or by too heavy 

 loads on the farm. If in feeding, it is by one of 

 two extremes — neglecting the medium course, 

 and feeding high with too stimulating food, or 

 too low, with damaged or innutritious hay. 

 Clean, sweet fodder, regularity in feeding, and 

 cleanliness and proper ventilation in the stalls, 

 are absolutely essential in securing soundness 

 in a horse. When these are observed, and the 

 horse is properly managed in working him, he 

 will endure from twenty- five to thirty years 

 and prove a faithful and profitable servant. 

 We have heard of instances where they have 

 continued sound and serviceable much longer 

 than ihat. 



We know of horses now, that have been out 

 of their "teens" more than ten vear;^, that are 



smooth and entirely sound in wind and limb. 

 They are in daily use, are strong, and if re- 

 maining idle a day or two, come from their 

 stalls as "gay as a lark." It is a real }ileas- 

 ure to hold the reins behind such animals, be- 

 cause they are old acquaintances, are long and 

 well-tried servants, and one feels safe himself, 

 and feels that his family is safe, in driving 

 them. 



The complicated structure of the horse, and 

 the artificial life which he lives, are matters 

 which every good master will consider. In a 

 natural state he would rarely, if ever, indulge 

 in an exercise which would cause the perspira- 

 tion to drip from his sides or trickle down his 

 haunches. But this is no unusual occurrence 

 under our hands, and too often when he is in 

 this condition, he is made to stand still, un- 

 covered, in a cutting blast that penetrates to 

 the very bones, checking the healthy action of 

 the skin, stopping the pores, and thus induc- 

 ing disease in one form or another. 



On the farm, he is often treated with the 

 same culpable negligence. He is greatly over- 

 loaded, and after taxing all his powers to take 

 the load to its destination, stands, uncovered, 

 in the cold north wind until the load ip dis- 

 charged. This process goes on through the 

 day, or for many days ; heating and suddenly 

 cooling the system, until the animal powers are 

 so weakened that fevers, cramps, catarrhs, or 

 permanent colds and coughs are seated so as 

 never to be removed ! No wonder that eight out 

 of every ten horses that pass us are lame or dis- 

 eased in some way. A sudden cold applied to 

 the skin often brings on a derangement of the 

 functions of the system which ends in what is 

 called a surfeit. 



As there must be several years in the life of 

 a horse when he will be an expense to his 

 owner, it is desirable that his usefulness be 

 continued at as late a period as possible. This 

 may be done by observing the foregoing sug- 

 gestions, and many a valuable seivant be con- 

 tinued for years beyond the period when it is 

 supposed he becomes unprofitable. 



— Prof. A. S. Packard, of Salem, Mass., thinks 

 that iusects injurious to vegetation may be most 

 successfully combatted by rearing their parasites, 

 or such insects as prey on those which attack our 

 crops, and suggests that each State should appoint 

 one or more insect commissioners whose chief 

 duty should be the propagation of parasitic insects. 



